Democratic Erosion University Course Student Blog

Students enrolled in our course are encouraged to write for the course blog, and to read and comment on posts from students at other participating universities. The blog offers students the opportunity to analyze current events through the lens of the theory and case studies they engage with through the course.

Donald Trump the Nazi Reincarnate?: Godwin’s Law and How This Phenomenon is Counterproductive to Understanding Democratic Erosion

What do we hope to accomplish when comparing President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, a tyrannical perpetrator of genocide?

The Russia-Ukraine War Bodes Poorly for Democracy, But Not in the Way You Think

The Russia-Ukraine War is a serious threat to global democracy through the growing wave of isolationism in the United States, an entity that has typically been at the forefront of fighting authoritarianism across the world.

The Trump Administration’s Attack on USAID

The Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID, increase concerns about democratic backsliding as it could result in a trend with the executive undermining institutional legitimacy.

The Shanghai Epidemic: Internet Censorship in Authoritarian Governance and Proliferated Rumors Had Resulted in Misinformation and Suppressed Civil Liberty

Jun 8, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

This spring, with the cancellation of pandemic restrictions in most parts of the world, China became the last large country to maintain the zero tolerance to COVID-19. Its...

Participation in Politics of Indigenous Communities in Colombia: Commission for the Comprehensive Development of an Indigenous Policy

Jun 8, 2022 | Koç University

Even though Colombia has fairly well-developed legal and institutional provisions to accommodate its indigenous citizens, there has to be a real and effective commitment...

Trump’s Fake News Awards Are a Threat to American Democracy By Jillian Newman @ Ohio State University

Feb 20, 2018 | Ohio State University

Donald Trump’s recent Fake News Awards may seem like just another harmless jab by Trump to the media that he often taunts, but it is much more than that. To have a sitting president attack his own...

DISRESPECTING THE UNION: HOW LAWMAKERS’ STATE OF THE UNION PROTESTS THREATEN TO UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY by LINDSEY POWELL @ UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Feb 19, 2018 | University of Pennsylvania

On January 30, 2018, President Trump delivered his first State of the Union address to 46 million television viewers and a chamber filled with American dignitaries. Despite the chamber’s bustling...

Net Neutrality Is Not Neutral for Democracy by Ron Fornaro @ Ohio State University

Feb 19, 2018 | Ohio State University

Our Values, Change, and Net Neutrality Freedom and Speech and Freedom of the press are two of the most important tenants in our bill of rights and for American civic identity in general, and those...

The Executive Order Does Not Eliminate Institutional Checks by Thomas Baumgarten @ Ohio State University

Feb 18, 2018 | Ohio State University

Some may argue that Trump’s use of the executive order is responsible for the erosion of democracy by eliminating the system of checks and balances that are in place. I will argue that the necessary...

Is Trump the Cause or the Effect of the Apparent Democratic Downslide in America? by Jamie O’Neill @ Ohio State University

Feb 17, 2018 | Ohio State University

Presently, there is seemingly a decay of democracy under the Trump administration. The current administration has acted in ways, that under various circumstances, some of the American people have...

Democratic Erosion University Course Student Blog

Donald Trump the Nazi Reincarnate?: Godwin’s Law and How This Phenomenon is Counterproductive to Understanding Democratic Erosion

The Russia-Ukraine War Bodes Poorly for Democracy, But Not in the Way You Think

The Trump Administration’s Attack on USAID

The Shanghai Epidemic: Internet Censorship in Authoritarian Governance and Proliferated Rumors Had Resulted in Misinformation and Suppressed Civil Liberty

Participation in Politics of Indigenous Communities in Colombia: Commission for the Comprehensive Development of an Indigenous Policy

Trump’s Fake News Awards Are a Threat to American Democracy By Jillian Newman @ Ohio State University

DISRESPECTING THE UNION: HOW LAWMAKERS’ STATE OF THE UNION PROTESTS THREATEN TO UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY by LINDSEY POWELL @ UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Net Neutrality Is Not Neutral for Democracy by Ron Fornaro @ Ohio State University

The Executive Order Does Not Eliminate Institutional Checks by Thomas Baumgarten @ Ohio State University

Is Trump the Cause or the Effect of the Apparent Democratic Downslide in America? by Jamie O’Neill @ Ohio State University

Trump’s Brand of Populism is Spreading–and Why We Should Worry by Kasey Powers @ The Ohio State University

Bright Line Watch: Who Is Rating Our Democracy? by Max Mapes @ Skidmore College

Democracy is not unassailable by Yanebi Blanco @Skidmore College

You Can’t Measure Democratic Health by Underrepresenting People by Anne Pfeifenberger @ Skidmore College

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